The Department of Media Studies at The New School is now accepting applications for its fall 2007 Documentary Media Studies certificate program. Launched in September 2006, this one-year intensive program is designed for college graduates and working professionals interested in hands-on documentary filmmaking. Working closely with faculty and visiting filmmakers like D.A. Pennebaker and Peter Davis, students are encouraged to use the documentary medium to create works of social and political significance.

The program offers a select group of students the unique opportunity to learn about documentary history, theory and video and film production in the heart of New York City. The curriculum culminates with a 30-minute individual documentary, which each student films and edits over the course of the program. Upon completion, students may apply their credits toward a master’s degree in media studies at The New School — the largest media studies MA program in the country — or use their skills to enter the world of professional documentary filmmaking.

For more information about this exciting opportunity, please visit www.newschool.edu/docstudies or call 212.229.5630.

George Lucas has a message for studios that are cutting their slates and shifting toward big-budget tentpoles and franchises: You’ve got it all wrong.

The creator of “Star Wars,” which stamped the template for the franchise-tentpole film, says many small films and Web distribution are the future.

And in case anyone doubts he means it, Lucasfilm is getting out of the movie biz.

“We don’t want to make movies. We’re about to get into television. As far as Lucasfilm is concerned, we’ve moved away from the feature film thing because it’s too expensive and it’s too risky.

“I think the secret to the future is quantity,” Lucas said.

He spoke to Daily Variety after the groundbreaking ceremony for the renamed School of Cinematic Arts at USC.

He gave $175 million — $100 million toward the endowment, $75 million for buildings — to his alma mater. But he said that kind of money is too much to put into a film.

Spending $100 million on production costs and another $100 million on P&A makes no sense, he said.

“For that same $200 million, I can make 50-60 two-hour movies. That’s 120 hours as opposed to two hours. In the future market, that’s where it’s going to land, because it’s going to be all pay-per-view and downloadable.

Where: George Washington University
What: The Documentary Center is an expansion of a decade-long commitment at The George Washington University to teaching documentary film production theory and techniques and to creating documentary films for national audiences. Inaugurated in 1990 as The Center for History in the Media, the Documentary Center is one of the few educational centers in the nation that focuses exclusively on the production of non-fiction filmmaking. The Documentary Center is an interdisciplinary program at the school of media and public affairs in the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences.
Website: http://www.gwu.edu/doccenter/home.htm

Where: Vancover, BC, Canada
What: Digital film production program. Includes general certification as well as a documentary film production certification program lasting twelve weeks.
Website: http://www.langara.bc.ca/cs/dfp

Where: New York City
What: The New School is a progressive university comprising eight schools bound by a common, unusual intent: to prepare and inspire its 9,300 undergraduate and graduate students to bring actual, positive change to the world. One school is Media Studies. Some media studies degrees emphasize theory. Others focus on production. The New School’s Media Studies master’s degree is one of the few in the country that allows the student to integrate coursework in media theory, media production, and media management.
Programs: Graduate Certificate in Documentary Studies, Master of Arts in Media Studies
Website: http://www.mediastudies.newschool.edu/

Where: Duke University
What: The Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University teaches, engages in, and presents documentary work grounded in collaborative partnerships and extended fieldwork that uses photography, film/video, audio, and narrative writing to capture and convey contemporary memory, life, and culture. CDS serves as a resource for individuals and groups wishing to learn or develop documentary skills. CDS-sponsored courses taught at Duke University are open to area university students.
Programs: Undergraduate, graduate, and adult learning certification; workshops and institutes
Website: http://www-cds.aas.duke.edu/

Where: Communications Department, Stanford University
What: The program is intensive and requires residency for two consecutive years. We encourage applications from highly motivated individuals with diverse backgrounds, regardless of their undergraduate course of study. Our experience indicates that mature applicants with work experience tend to flourish and excel in the program. The conceptual and technical skills required for documentary work are sufficiently different from fictional narrative to make the Stanford program inappropriate for students interested in feature filmmaking.
Programs: MFA in Documentary Film and Video
Website: http://communication.stanford.edu/documentary/

Where: Bolzano, Italy
What: ZeLIG is one of the few professional training institutions in Europe that offers specific preparation in the field of documentary making. The school’s location in the alpine border city of Bolzano, in the bilingual province of Bolzano-South Tyrol, has had a definite impact on the school’s multi-language approach and international perspective. In 1988 a group of cineastes, film-making professionals and producers founded the ZeLIG Cooperative – Film School. From the very beginning funding for the school has been guaranteed by the Autonomous Province of Bolzano, through the provincial commissions for professional training in Italian, German and Ladin.
Programs: Diploma in Documentary Film and Audiovisual Communication; introductory and specialization courses for youths and professionals
Website: http://www.zeligfilm.it/

Where: University of Wales, Newport
What: The course is designed and taught by an experienced and award winning team of documentary filmmakers. An ideas-led approach develops practical competences in handling relevant equipment and processes involving cameras, sound, editing and lighting. Accompanying lectures, seminars, screenings and workshops will give a solid grounding in the history and theory of documentary film and contemporary issues. This will enable the student to become an active researcher by developing skills such as writing, interviewing and presentation. The International Film School Wales (IFSW) is the recognised leading institution for the promotion and development of the audiovisual culture of Wales through higher-level education, research and training. There are currently over 500 undergraduate and postgraduate students at IFSW.
Programs: Documentary Film and Television BA
Website: http://artschool.newport.ac.uk/filmtv.html